Improved construction of ships of war



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY OAUDVELL, OF OATLANDS HOUSE, SI-IILLINGFORD, ENGLAND.

IMPROVE-QD CONSTRUCTION OF SHIPS OF WAR.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 4 l,'78, dated January19, 19.64.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY CAUDWELL, of Oatlands House, Shillingford, inthe county of Oxford, England, gentleman, have invented Improvements inthe Construction of Vessels of Var, part of which improvements isapplicable to fortifications, and I do hereby declare that the followingis a full and exact description of the said invention.

The chief object of this invention is so to construct ships of war thatthey shall possess ample facilities for the working of broadsideguns,while at the same time effectual protection is afforded to the crew andalso to the hull of the ship, access to the upper deck by boarders beingprovided against.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l, Sheet I, shows in partial sideelevation a vessel constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is atransverse section of the same, taken in the line l 2 of Fig. 1, andFig. 3 is a transverse section taken in the line 3 Ll.

The hull of the vessel, it will be seen, is constructed with a curvedprojecting lip of wrought-iron, t c, running around itjust above thewater-line. This projecting lip is formed of slabs of wrought-ironsufficiently strong to resist solid shot, and of such sectional shape asto deiiect them either' upward or downward, according to the level atwhich they strike. Below the slabs forming this lip I continue thearmor-plating, as shown at a a, any desired number of feet below thewaterline, tapering off the same until its attribute of armor-plating islost in uniting with the skin of the vessel, as shown at Figs.'2 and 3.The projecting lip a will serve in ease of a collision as a protection,and it may with advantage be partially overlaid, as hereinafterdescribed, with an elastic covering of any suitable material.

The deck b b of the vessel I protect with a sloping or pitched roof, cc, formed of plates of wrought-iron. Along the sides of the roof, atsuitable distances apart--that is, at distances corresponding to thepositions where it is desired to mount broadside-guns-I form broadcorrugations, or rounded hollow projecting ribs ct d, which run upwardfrom the hull and form internal recesses. These corrugations I pierce,as shown best at Fig. 1, to form port-holes for the guns,which areplanted behind the recesses, ready to be moved forwardinto the recesses,when sliding metal shutters e e are raised to allow of the muzzles ofthe guns being projected through the port-holes. These shutters I makeshot-proof and construct them as shown in the detached views, Figs. 4and 5, Fig. et representing a portion of a port-hole, as seen insectional plan, iitted with the metal shutters e, and Eig. 5 showing thesamein erosssection. These shutters consist simply of plates of iron orsteel let into parallel rabbeted grooves formed in the edges of thepierced armor-plates and connect-ed together by latchesf on their innerface. Attached t0 the uppermost plate is a chain, g, which passes upwardalong the deck-roof to a roller within the roof and is thence broughtdown to a cap* stan on the deck. XVhen, therefore, it is intended t0fire the gun at an elevation,the lower plates of t-he shutter aredetached from the upper plates and only the upper plates are elevated;but when the gun is required to be depressed all the plates must beraised to allow of that depression. In no case, however, need theshutter be raised higher than is sufficient to permit of the gun beingrun out. Between the corrugated ribs I propose,also,to constructapertures for the purpose of throwing out shells from mortars, as shownat Fig. l.

The upper portion or ridge of the roof of the deck I construct ofridge-shaped plates 7L h, which interlock with each other, and thosenear the midships I cause to slide in groovts running longitudinally ofthe ship, as shown in the detached sectional vie\v,Fig. 6. Theseridge-plates lz. are made to slide, in order to open up access (by thewithdrawal of one or more of the plates) to the interior of the vesselfor the purpose of receiving the armament and provisions. Below theseplates I tit removable iron grat-ings It* lidi, which, like the plates,may also be slid forward or backward to complete the uncovering of thespace required for ingress and egress. The chief use of these gratingsis to form a guard against boarders, and yet allow of ventilation whenthe ship is in action, some of the ridge-plates being, for the purposeof Ventilation, slid ont of position, and others, which are hinged, asshown at 11?", Fig. l, being open for the like purpose. The corrugatedribs I prefer shall terminate in a shot-proof cone, as shown at Fig. 2,provided with an iron door for the ingress and egress of the crew. Theinterruptions which these concs make to the line ofA roof-ridge affordaspace for receiving the ridge-plates, and also the gratings when slidbackward or forward, as explained, and from these cones sights may betaken and the lookout kept up. These hollow cones may also be used forVentilating the ship, and they may be pierced and then used asrifle-towers.

Fig. 7 shows the manner of applying an elastic material-such asindia-rubber compound-to the circumscribing-lip of the vessel. The lipis recessed in parts to receive lengths of this elastic material, whichis shown at lc, and when molded into its place it is held there byoverlapping plates of metal Z l, which are themselves secured to thelip-plates by screws or rivets. This cushion of elastic ma terlal is notmade continuous, but is protected by being inserted in recesses toprevent, in the event of a collision, a long length of it being strippedoff.

The invention also applies to the protection of forts or land defenses,the corrugated roofing being in this case applied tothe covering of theexposed faces of the land defenses. This part of my invention is shownvin the sectional elevation Fig. 8, in Sheet Il, which tignre representsa land fortification fitted with a shot-proof roof somewhat similar tothat described for protecting the decks of ships. The ironplates mm,forming the inclined roof. are secured to beams n n, which are bracedtogether to constitute a strong structure.v The curved plates formingthe recesses for the guns are pierced with three long slots, as shown inthe partial sectional plan, Fig. 9, to give the guns the widest possiblerange. Shutters similar to those above described will also be applied tocover the openings for the guns. The internal arrangement of the fortsmay be such as is -shown,or may be carried out in any other approvedmanner.

lf thought desirable, the corrugations may be made vertical instead ofinclined, as shown.

Having now set forth the nature of my invention, I claim- 1. .Thecorrugated armor-plated roof having the portholes inthe corrugationsdel, substantially as herein specified.

2. The port-shutters composed of a number of separate plates of iron orsteel, e e, arranged one above another and fitted to grooves in theedges ofthe armor-plates, to operate substantially as herein specified.

.3. The employment ofindia-rubber or other elastic material incombination with the circnmscribing-lip ofthe vessel, substantially asherein specified. y

In witness whereof I, the said HENRY GAUD- WELL, have hereunto set myhand this 21st day of October, in the year of our Lord 1863.

HY. CAUD WELL.

Witnesses:

M. WYNN,

WALTER G. KING, Both of 24 Royal Exchange.

